Dearth, debt and the local land market in a late thirteenth-century village community

Agricultural History Review

Volumn 45, Issue 1, 1997, Pages 1-17

  Schofield, Phillipp R ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0001845372     PISSN: 00021490     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
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References (125)

1. B M S Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market in a fourteenth century peasant community', in R M Smith, ed, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, 1984, pp 87-134; R M Smith, 'Families and their land in an area of partible inheritance: Redgrave, Suffolk 1260-1320', in Smith, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, pp 13 5-95; R M Smith, 'Transactional analysis and the measurement of institutional determinants of fertility: a comparison of communities in present-day Bangladesh and pre-industrial England', in J C Caldwell, A G Hill and V J Hull, eds, Micro-approaches to Demographic Research, London and New York, 1988, pp 215-41; C Clarke, 'Peasant society and land transactions in Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, 1277-1325', unpublished D Phil thesis, University of Oxford, 1985, chap 4. See also D G Watts, 'A model for the early fourteenth century'. Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 20, 1967, pp 543-7. For similar findings from other regions see Z Razi, Life, Marriage and Death in a Medieval Parish. Economy, Society and Demography in Halesowen 1270-1400, 1980, pp 37-40.
2. B M S Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market in a fourteenth century peasant community', in R M Smith, ed, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, 1984, pp 87-134; R M Smith, 'Families and their land in an area of partible inheritance: Redgrave, Suffolk 1260-1320', in Smith, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, pp 13 5-95; R M Smith, 'Transactional analysis and the measurement of institutional determinants of fertility: a comparison of communities in present-day Bangladesh and pre-industrial England', in J C Caldwell, A G Hill and V J Hull, eds, Micro-approaches to Demographic Research, London and New York, 1988, pp 215-41; C Clarke, 'Peasant society and land transactions in Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, 1277-1325', unpublished D Phil thesis, University of Oxford, 1985, chap 4. See also D G Watts, 'A model for the early fourteenth century'. Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 20, 1967, pp 543-7. For similar findings from other regions see Z Razi, Life, Marriage and Death in a Medieval Parish. Economy, Society and Demography in Halesowen 1270-1400, 1980, pp 37-40.
3. B M S Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market in a fourteenth century peasant community', in R M Smith, ed, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, 1984, pp 87-134; R M Smith, 'Families and their land in an area of partible inheritance: Redgrave, Suffolk 1260-1320', in Smith, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, pp 13 5-95; R M Smith, 'Transactional analysis and the measurement of institutional determinants of fertility: a comparison of communities in present-day Bangladesh and pre-industrial England', in J C Caldwell, A G Hill and V J Hull, eds, Micro-approaches to Demographic Research, London and New York, 1988, pp 215-41; C Clarke, 'Peasant society and land transactions in Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, 1277-1325', unpublished D Phil thesis, University of Oxford, 1985, chap 4. See also D G Watts, 'A model for the early fourteenth century'. Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 20, 1967, pp 543-7. For similar findings from other regions see Z Razi, Life, Marriage and Death in a Medieval Parish. Economy, Society and Demography in Halesowen 1270-1400, 1980, pp 37-40.
4. B M S Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market in a fourteenth century peasant community', in R M Smith, ed, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, 1984, pp 87-134; R M Smith, 'Families and their land in an area of partible inheritance: Redgrave, Suffolk 1260-1320', in Smith, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, pp 13 5-95; R M Smith, 'Transactional analysis and the measurement of institutional determinants of fertility: a comparison of communities in present-day Bangladesh and pre-industrial England', in J C Caldwell, A G Hill and V J Hull, eds, Micro-approaches to Demographic Research, London and New York, 1988, pp 215-41; C Clarke, 'Peasant society and land transactions in Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, 1277-1325', unpublished D Phil thesis, University of Oxford, 1985, chap 4. See also D G Watts, 'A model for the early fourteenth century'. Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 20, 1967, pp 543-7. For similar findings from other regions see Z Razi, Life, Marriage and Death in a Medieval Parish. Economy, Society and Demography in Halesowen 1270-1400, 1980, pp 37-40.
5. B M S Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market in a fourteenth century peasant community', in R M Smith, ed, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, 1984, pp 87-134; R M Smith, 'Families and their land in an area of partible inheritance: Redgrave, Suffolk 1260-1320', in Smith, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, pp 13 5-95; R M Smith, 'Transactional analysis and the measurement of institutional determinants of fertility: a comparison of communities in present-day Bangladesh and pre-industrial England', in J C Caldwell, A G Hill and V J Hull, eds, Micro-approaches to Demographic Research, London and New York, 1988, pp 215-41; C Clarke, 'Peasant society and land transactions in Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, 1277-1325', unpublished D Phil thesis, University of Oxford, 1985, chap 4. See also D G Watts, 'A model for the early fourteenth century'. Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 20, 1967, pp 543-7. For similar findings from other regions see Z Razi, Life, Marriage and Death in a Medieval Parish. Economy, Society and Demography in Halesowen 1270-1400, 1980, pp 37-40.
6. B M S Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market in a fourteenth century peasant community', in R M Smith, ed, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, 1984, pp 87-134; R M Smith, 'Families and their land in an area of partible inheritance: Redgrave, Suffolk 1260-1320', in Smith, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, pp 13 5-95; R M Smith, 'Transactional analysis and the measurement of institutional determinants of fertility: a comparison of communities in present-day Bangladesh and pre-industrial England', in J C Caldwell, A G Hill and V J Hull, eds, Micro-approaches to Demographic Research, London and New York, 1988, pp 215-41; C Clarke, 'Peasant society and land transactions in Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, 1277-1325', unpublished D Phil thesis, University of Oxford, 1985, chap 4. See also D G Watts, 'A model for the early fourteenth century'. Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 20, 1967, pp 543-7. For similar findings from other regions see Z Razi, Life, Marriage and Death in a Medieval Parish. Economy, Society and Demography in Halesowen 1270-1400, 1980, pp 37-40.
7. For example, Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', pp 112-3: 'As a rule...bad harvests and high prices coincided with an increase in the number of land transactions..., whilst good harvests and low prices occasionally, as in 1334-41, gave rise to the same. The inference to be drawn from this would appear to be that consecutive years of harvest failure reduced the peasantry to such a state that they were obliged to sell land in order to buy food, and that only a fortuitous run of good harvests put them in a position to recoup their losses'.
8. Smith, 'Families and their land', p 152. Cf Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, p 37: 'The reason for the rapid quickening of the interpeasant land market during periods of economic crises is that smallholders and to a lesser extent half yardlanders had to sub-let and to sell land either to remit debts or to pay rents and fines to buy food, seed corn and livestock'.
9. Smith, 'Families and their land', p 152. Cf Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, p 37: 'The reason for the rapid quickening of the interpeasant land market during periods of economic crises is that smallholders and to a lesser extent half yardlanders had to sub-let and to sell land either to remit debts or to pay rents and fines to buy food, seed corn and livestock'.
10. J Waiter, 'The social economy of dearth in early modem England', pp 75-128 in J Walter and R Schofield, eds, Famine, Disease and the Social Order in Early Modem Society, 1989, pp 75-128; also B A Holderness, 'Credit in English rural society before the nineteenth century, with special reference to the period 1650-1720', AHR, 24, 1976, pp 97-109.
11. J Waiter, 'The social economy of dearth in early modem England', pp 75-128 in J Walter and R Schofield, eds, Famine, Disease and the Social Order in Early Modem Society, 1989, pp 75-128; also B A Holderness, 'Credit in English rural society before the nineteenth century, with special reference to the period 1650-1720', AHR, 24, 1976, pp 97-109.
12. Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, p 38.
13. C Dyer, Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages. Social Change in England, c 1200-1520, 1989, p 266.
14. Important studies of taxation and its impact in this period include J F Willard, Parliamentary Taxes on Personal Property, 1290-1334, Cambridge, Mass, 1934; J R Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown, 1294-1341', Past & Pres Supplement, 1, 1975, reprinted in T H Aston, ed, Landlords, Peasants and Politics in Medieval England, 1987, pp 285-359 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); W M Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy, 1290-1348', in B M S Campbell, ed, Before the Black Death, Studies in the 'Crisis' of the early Fourteenth Century, Manchester, 1991, pp 149-83. For an attempt to incorporate late thirteenth-century incidence of taxation within a general discussion of peasant living standards see Dyer, Standards of Living, pp 84, 116, 138-9, 276.
15. Important studies of taxation and its impact in this period include J F Willard, Parliamentary Taxes on Personal Property, 1290-1334, Cambridge, Mass, 1934; J R Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown, 1294-1341', Past & Pres Supplement, 1, 1975, reprinted in T H Aston, ed, Landlords, Peasants and Politics in Medieval England, 1987, pp 285-359 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); W M Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy, 1290-1348', in B M S Campbell, ed, Before the Black Death, Studies in the 'Crisis' of the early Fourteenth Century, Manchester, 1991, pp 149-83. For an attempt to incorporate late thirteenth-century incidence of taxation within a general discussion of peasant living standards see Dyer, Standards of Living, pp 84, 116, 138-9, 276.
16. Important studies of taxation and its impact in this period include J F Willard, Parliamentary Taxes on Personal Property, 1290-1334, Cambridge, Mass, 1934; J R Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown, 1294-1341', Past & Pres Supplement, 1, 1975, reprinted in T H Aston, ed, Landlords, Peasants and Politics in Medieval England, 1987, pp 285-359 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); W M Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy, 1290-1348', in B M S Campbell, ed, Before the Black Death, Studies in the 'Crisis' of the early Fourteenth Century, Manchester, 1991, pp 149-83. For an attempt to incorporate late thirteenth-century incidence of taxation within a general discussion of peasant living standards see Dyer, Standards of Living, pp 84, 116, 138-9, 276.
17. Important studies of taxation and its impact in this period include J F Willard, Parliamentary Taxes on Personal Property, 1290-1334, Cambridge, Mass, 1934; J R Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown, 1294-1341', Past & Pres Supplement, 1, 1975, reprinted in T H Aston, ed, Landlords, Peasants and Politics in Medieval England, 1987, pp 285-359 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); W M Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy, 1290-1348', in B M S Campbell, ed, Before the Black Death, Studies in the 'Crisis' of the early Fourteenth Century, Manchester, 1991, pp 149-83. For an attempt to incorporate late thirteenth-century incidence of taxation within a general discussion of peasant living standards see Dyer, Standards of Living, pp 84, 116, 138-9, 276.
18. Important studies of taxation and its impact in this period include J F Willard, Parliamentary Taxes on Personal Property, 1290-1334, Cambridge, Mass, 1934; J R Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown, 1294-1341', Past & Pres Supplement, 1, 1975, reprinted in T H Aston, ed, Landlords, Peasants and Politics in Medieval England, 1987, pp 285-359 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); W M Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy, 1290-1348', in B M S Campbell, ed, Before the Black Death, Studies in the 'Crisis' of the early Fourteenth Century, Manchester, 1991, pp 149-83. For an attempt to incorporate late thirteenth-century incidence of taxation within a general discussion of peasant living standards see Dyer, Standards of Living, pp 84, 116, 138-9, 276.
19. Court rolls for the period 1257-1335: University of Chicago Bacon Mss [hereafter Bacon Mss] 114-122; account rolls exist for the same period: Bacon Mss, 405-462. There is also a late thirteenth-century demesne extent, Bacon Mss, 832 and some evidences survive for the manor, probably compiled in the early fifteenth century, BL Add 31970.
20. See below, Table 2.
21. In other studies, which lack the support of account rolls, estimates of the total number of courts held in each year have been made: cf Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', pp 108-9, Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 45-7, and comments therein.
22. In other studies, which lack the support of account rolls, estimates of the total number of courts held in each year have been made: cf Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', pp 108-9, Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 45-7, and comments therein.
23. Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 135-95. On Botesdale see idem, 'A periodic market in late thirteenth and early fourteenth century Suffolk' in R M Smith and Z Razi, eds, Medieval Society and the Manor Court, 1996, pp. 450-81.
24. Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 135-95. On Botesdale see idem, 'A periodic market in late thirteenth and early fourteenth century Suffolk' in R M Smith and Z Razi, eds, Medieval Society and the Manor Court, 1996, pp. 450-81.
25. PRO, E 179 242/41. The assessment is published: E Powell, ed, A Suffolk Hundred in the Year 1283. The Assessment of the Hundred of Blackbourne for a Tax of One Thirtieth, and a Return showing the Land Tenure There, 1910.
26. BL, Add 31970, medieval folios 197 (modern 5) - 212 (20).
27. BL, Add 31970, 212 (20). The list is headed Talliagium nativorum de Hildercle ad auxilium cape camerarii anno regno regis Edwardi xxix.
28. B M S Campbell, 'The complexity of manorial structure in medieval Norfolk: a case study', Norfolk Archaeology, 39, 1986, pp 243-4.
29. In fact the mode and median of the recorded holding sizes, both 6 acres, may come closer to reflecting the reality at Hinderclay. Even a holding of this size might be considerably larger than many of the holdings. A similar situation, albeit on a larger scale, is described by Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 139-40 where he notes that, at Redgrave, tenement sizes had a lowest level of 1.5 acres and an upper level of 40 acres with a tendency for units to be composed of multiples of 5 acres.
30. Bacon Miss, 120 m 9/2, court of 16 Dec 1318.
31. William son of Adam paid tallage of 2s 6d for 30 acres whilst Thomas Gardener paid 1d for a single acre. The form of inheritance at Hinderclay was partibility, a fact which had no doubt contributed to the seemingly small units of land. Defensive measures against partibility of the kind described by Smith for Redgrave (Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 180-5) can also be found at Hinderclay.
32. See, for example, Dyer, Standards of Living, pp 118-27.
33. Campbell, 'Manorial structure in medieval Norfolk', pp 239-40, 243-5.
34. Clarke, 'Chesterton', p 92 offers similar results.
35. For example, of the four references to terra custumaria, one is to a twelve acre holding, one to a six, one to a five and one to a half acre holding.
36. Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', pp 107-27; Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 151-2; Clarke, 'Chesterton', pp 127-37. Transfers of land at Hinderclay in this period were, for the most part, recorded as surrenders and admittances, the outgoing tenant surrendering his land to the lord who then granted it to the new tenant, usually to hold 'to himself and heirs', sibi et heredibus suis. That said, the earliest transfers were often not made in this form which had become common practice only by the early 12905 by which decade a standard formula of alienation had been established. The situation again parallels that found by Smith for Redgrave: Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 150-1; idem, 'Some thoughts on 'hereditary' and 'proprietary' rights in land under customary law in thirteenth and early fourteenth century England', Law and History Review, i, 1983, pp 98-107.
37. Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', pp 107-27; Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 151-2; Clarke, 'Chesterton', pp 127-37. Transfers of land at Hinderclay in this period were, for the most part, recorded as surrenders and admittances, the outgoing tenant surrendering his land to the lord who then granted it to the new tenant, usually to hold 'to himself and heirs', sibi et heredibus suis. That said, the earliest transfers were often not made in this form which had become common practice only by the early 12905 by which decade a standard formula of alienation had been established. The situation again parallels that found by Smith for Redgrave: Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 150-1; idem, 'Some thoughts on 'hereditary' and 'proprietary' rights in land under customary law in thirteenth and early fourteenth century England', Law and History Review, i, 1983, pp 98-107.
38. Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', pp 107-27; Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 151-2; Clarke, 'Chesterton', pp 127-37. Transfers of land at Hinderclay in this period were, for the most part, recorded as surrenders and admittances, the outgoing tenant surrendering his land to the lord who then granted it to the new tenant, usually to hold 'to himself and heirs', sibi et heredibus suis. That said, the earliest transfers were often not made in this form which had become common practice only by the early 12905 by which decade a standard formula of alienation had been established. The situation again parallels that found by Smith for Redgrave: Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 150-1; idem, 'Some thoughts on 'hereditary' and 'proprietary' rights in land under customary law in thirteenth and early fourteenth century England', Law and History Review, i, 1983, pp 98-107.
39. Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', pp 107-27; Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 151-2; Clarke, 'Chesterton', pp 127-37. Transfers of land at Hinderclay in this period were, for the most part, recorded as surrenders and admittances, the outgoing tenant surrendering his land to the lord who then granted it to the new tenant, usually to hold 'to himself and heirs', sibi et heredibus suis. That said, the earliest transfers were often not made in this form which had become common practice only by the early 12905 by which decade a standard formula of alienation had been established. The situation again parallels that found by Smith for Redgrave: Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 150-1; idem, 'Some thoughts on 'hereditary' and 'proprietary' rights in land under customary law in thirteenth and early fourteenth century England', Law and History Review, i, 1983, pp 98-107.
40. Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', pp 107-27; Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 151-2; Clarke, 'Chesterton', pp 127-37. Transfers of land at Hinderclay in this period were, for the most part, recorded as surrenders and admittances, the outgoing tenant surrendering his land to the lord who then granted it to the new tenant, usually to hold 'to himself and heirs', sibi et heredibus suis. That said, the earliest transfers were often not made in this form which had become common practice only by the early 12905 by which decade a standard formula of alienation had been established. The situation again parallels that found by Smith for Redgrave: Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 150-1; idem, 'Some thoughts on 'hereditary' and 'proprietary' rights in land under customary law in thirteenth and early fourteenth century England', Law and History Review, i, 1983, pp 98-107.
41. am grateful to Dr Bruce Campbell for sending me his grain price data for Norwich which is a transcript of the Lord Beveridge material preserved at LSE. Although both wheat and barley prices are given, barley was the main crop at Hinderclay, as it was in much of East Anglia: cf B M S Campbell and M Overton, 'A new perspective on medieval and early modern agriculture: six centuries of Norfolk farming c 1250-c 1850', Past & Pres, 141, 1993, PP 54-7.
42. This may also account for the delay in the land market response in 1283-4. Crop yield data taken from the Hinderclay ministers' accounts would seem to confirm the general trends of the less geographically specific Norwich information: Ministers' accounts, Bacon Mss, 415-433. However, unfortunately, although most of the years of lower yield (for wheat, 1283, 1295 and 1299; for barley, 1283, 1290-1, 1296, 1299) do correspond to years for which grain price data survive, the high price years of 1293 and 1294 do not link with years for which we can calculate crop yields.
43. Bacon Mss, 117, m 11; courts survive from 13 Sept 1293, 1 Oct 1293, 9 Nov 1293, 13 Jan 1294.
44. For heriots cf M M Postan and J Z Titow, 'Heriots and prices on Winchester manors', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, xi, 1959, pp 392-417, reprinted in M M Postan, Essays on Medieval Agriculture and General Problems of the Medieval Economy, 1973, pp 150-185 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); severe fluctuation in heriot numbers is not so typical elsewhere: cf I Kershaw, 'The Great Famine and agrarian crisis in England 1315-1322', Past & Pres, LIX, 1973, p 37, reprinted in R H Hilton, ed, Peasants, Knights and Heretics. Studies in Medieval English Social History, 1976, p 119; also R M Smith, 'Demographic developments in rural England, 1300-48: a survey', in Campbell, Before the Black Death, PP 53-7. Also note Razi's comments on merchet and childwite payments as indices of problem years: Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 45-7, 64-71. All three kinds of payments from this period at Hinderclay have been analysed by Thrupp as part of a discussion of replacement rates: S Thrupp, 'The problem of replacement rates in late medieval English population', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 1965, pp 101-119. Note that the figures in Table 2 differ from Thrupp's total figures for merchet, childwite and heriot payments at Hinderclay in the period 1289-1300 perhaps because of some redating of the court rolls: Thrupp, 'Problem of replacement rates', p 106, table I.
45. For heriots cf M M Postan and J Z Titow, 'Heriots and prices on Winchester manors', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, xi, 1959, pp 392-417, reprinted in M M Postan, Essays on Medieval Agriculture and General Problems of the Medieval Economy, 1973, pp 150-185 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); severe fluctuation in heriot numbers is not so typical elsewhere: cf I Kershaw, 'The Great Famine and agrarian crisis in England 1315-1322', Past & Pres, LIX, 1973, p 37, reprinted in R H Hilton, ed, Peasants, Knights and Heretics. Studies in Medieval English Social History, 1976, p 119; also R M Smith, 'Demographic developments in rural England, 1300-48: a survey', in Campbell, Before the Black Death, PP 53-7. Also note Razi's comments on merchet and childwite payments as indices of problem years: Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 45-7, 64-71. All three kinds of payments from this period at Hinderclay have been analysed by Thrupp as part of a discussion of replacement rates: S Thrupp, 'The problem of replacement rates in late medieval English population', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 1965, pp 101-119. Note that the figures in Table 2 differ from Thrupp's total figures for merchet, childwite and heriot payments at Hinderclay in the period 1289-1300 perhaps because of some redating of the court rolls: Thrupp, 'Problem of replacement rates', p 106, table I.
46. For heriots cf M M Postan and J Z Titow, 'Heriots and prices on Winchester manors', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, xi, 1959, pp 392-417, reprinted in M M Postan, Essays on Medieval Agriculture and General Problems of the Medieval Economy, 1973, pp 150-185 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); severe fluctuation in heriot numbers is not so typical elsewhere: cf I Kershaw, 'The Great Famine and agrarian crisis in England 1315-1322', Past & Pres, LIX, 1973, p 37, reprinted in R H Hilton, ed, Peasants, Knights and Heretics. Studies in Medieval English Social History, 1976, p 119; also R M Smith, 'Demographic developments in rural England, 1300-48: a survey', in Campbell, Before the Black Death, PP 53-7. Also note Razi's comments on merchet and childwite payments as indices of problem years: Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 45-7, 64-71. All three kinds of payments from this period at Hinderclay have been analysed by Thrupp as part of a discussion of replacement rates: S Thrupp, 'The problem of replacement rates in late medieval English population', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 1965, pp 101-119. Note that the figures in Table 2 differ from Thrupp's total figures for merchet, childwite and heriot payments at Hinderclay in the period 1289-1300 perhaps because of some redating of the court rolls: Thrupp, 'Problem of replacement rates', p 106, table I.
47. For heriots cf M M Postan and J Z Titow, 'Heriots and prices on Winchester manors', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, xi, 1959, pp 392-417, reprinted in M M Postan, Essays on Medieval Agriculture and General Problems of the Medieval Economy, 1973, pp 150-185 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); severe fluctuation in heriot numbers is not so typical elsewhere: cf I Kershaw, 'The Great Famine and agrarian crisis in England 1315-1322', Past & Pres, LIX, 1973, p 37, reprinted in R H Hilton, ed, Peasants, Knights and Heretics. Studies in Medieval English Social History, 1976, p 119; also R M Smith, 'Demographic developments in rural England, 1300-48: a survey', in Campbell, Before the Black Death, PP 53-7. Also note Razi's comments on merchet and childwite payments as indices of problem years: Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 45-7, 64-71. All three kinds of payments from this period at Hinderclay have been analysed by Thrupp as part of a discussion of replacement rates: S Thrupp, 'The problem of replacement rates in late medieval English population', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 1965, pp 101-119. Note that the figures in Table 2 differ from Thrupp's total figures for merchet, childwite and heriot payments at Hinderclay in the period 1289-1300 perhaps because of some redating of the court rolls: Thrupp, 'Problem of replacement rates', p 106, table I.
48. For heriots cf M M Postan and J Z Titow, 'Heriots and prices on Winchester manors', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, xi, 1959, pp 392-417, reprinted in M M Postan, Essays on Medieval Agriculture and General Problems of the Medieval Economy, 1973, pp 150-185 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); severe fluctuation in heriot numbers is not so typical elsewhere: cf I Kershaw, 'The Great Famine and agrarian crisis in England 1315-1322', Past & Pres, LIX, 1973, p 37, reprinted in R H Hilton, ed, Peasants, Knights and Heretics. Studies in Medieval English Social History, 1976, p 119; also R M Smith, 'Demographic developments in rural England, 1300-48: a survey', in Campbell, Before the Black Death, PP 53-7. Also note Razi's comments on merchet and childwite payments as indices of problem years: Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 45-7, 64-71. All three kinds of payments from this period at Hinderclay have been analysed by Thrupp as part of a discussion of replacement rates: S Thrupp, 'The problem of replacement rates in late medieval English population', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 1965, pp 101-119. Note that the figures in Table 2 differ from Thrupp's total figures for merchet, childwite and heriot payments at Hinderclay in the period 1289-1300 perhaps because of some redating of the court rolls: Thrupp, 'Problem of replacement rates', p 106, table I.
49. For heriots cf M M Postan and J Z Titow, 'Heriots and prices on Winchester manors', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, xi, 1959, pp 392-417, reprinted in M M Postan, Essays on Medieval Agriculture and General Problems of the Medieval Economy, 1973, pp 150-185 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); severe fluctuation in heriot numbers is not so typical elsewhere: cf I Kershaw, 'The Great Famine and agrarian crisis in England 1315-1322', Past & Pres, LIX, 1973, p 37, reprinted in R H Hilton, ed, Peasants, Knights and Heretics. Studies in Medieval English Social History, 1976, p 119; also R M Smith, 'Demographic developments in rural England, 1300-48: a survey', in Campbell, Before the Black Death, PP 53-7. Also note Razi's comments on merchet and childwite payments as indices of problem years: Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 45-7, 64-71. All three kinds of payments from this period at Hinderclay have been analysed by Thrupp as part of a discussion of replacement rates: S Thrupp, 'The problem of replacement rates in late medieval English population', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 1965, pp 101-119. Note that the figures in Table 2 differ from Thrupp's total figures for merchet, childwite and heriot payments at Hinderclay in the period 1289-1300 perhaps because of some redating of the court rolls: Thrupp, 'Problem of replacement rates', p 106, table I.
50. For heriots cf M M Postan and J Z Titow, 'Heriots and prices on Winchester manors', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, xi, 1959, pp 392-417, reprinted in M M Postan, Essays on Medieval Agriculture and General Problems of the Medieval Economy, 1973, pp 150-185 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); severe fluctuation in heriot numbers is not so typical elsewhere: cf I Kershaw, 'The Great Famine and agrarian crisis in England 1315-1322', Past & Pres, LIX, 1973, p 37, reprinted in R H Hilton, ed, Peasants, Knights and Heretics. Studies in Medieval English Social History, 1976, p 119; also R M Smith, 'Demographic developments in rural England, 1300-48: a survey', in Campbell, Before the Black Death, PP 53-7. Also note Razi's comments on merchet and childwite payments as indices of problem years: Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 45-7, 64-71. All three kinds of payments from this period at Hinderclay have been analysed by Thrupp as part of a discussion of replacement rates: S Thrupp, 'The problem of replacement rates in late medieval English population', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 1965, pp 101-119. Note that the figures in Table 2 differ from Thrupp's total figures for merchet, childwite and heriot payments at Hinderclay in the period 1289-1300 perhaps because of some redating of the court rolls: Thrupp, 'Problem of replacement rates', p 106, table I.
51. For heriots cf M M Postan and J Z Titow, 'Heriots and prices on Winchester manors', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, xi, 1959, pp 392-417, reprinted in M M Postan, Essays on Medieval Agriculture and General Problems of the Medieval Economy, 1973, pp 150-185 (subsequent page references are taken from the latter); severe fluctuation in heriot numbers is not so typical elsewhere: cf I Kershaw, 'The Great Famine and agrarian crisis in England 1315-1322', Past & Pres, LIX, 1973, p 37, reprinted in R H Hilton, ed, Peasants, Knights and Heretics. Studies in Medieval English Social History, 1976, p 119; also R M Smith, 'Demographic developments in rural England, 1300-48: a survey', in Campbell, Before the Black Death, PP 53-7. Also note Razi's comments on merchet and childwite payments as indices of problem years: Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 45-7, 64-71. All three kinds of payments from this period at Hinderclay have been analysed by Thrupp as part of a discussion of replacement rates: S Thrupp, 'The problem of replacement rates in late medieval English population', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 1965, pp 101-119. Note that the figures in Table 2 differ from Thrupp's total figures for merchet, childwite and heriot payments at Hinderclay in the period 1289-1300 perhaps because of some redating of the court rolls: Thrupp, 'Problem of replacement rates', p 106, table I.
52. Cf Postan and Titow, 'Heriots and prices on Winchester manors', passim.
53. See above, pp 3-5.
54. Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 47-8.
55. 31Bacon Mss, 117 m 8, court of 8 Jan 1293.
56. Bacon Mss, 117 mm 8, 13, courts of 8 Jan 1293, 5 Oct 1294. At least in two cases it may be that the husband and wife paid separately in the same court, effectively doubling the figure of 'marriages'.
57. Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 64-71.
58. Giovanni Levi, Inheriting Power. The Story of an Exorcist, Chicago, 1988, p 84.
59. Smith discusses the distinction between non-family and intrafamilial transactions at Redgrave: Smith, 'Families and their land', p 160. The relatively small number of intra-familial transfers is a feature of other manors in eastern England: Smith, 'Families and their land', p 157; idem. 'Transactional analysis', p 227; Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', p 121. On the dominance of intra-familial activity in traditional peasant land transfer cf R Hodges, Primitive and Peasant Markets, 1988, pp 8, 62, 74-6, 124, 135.
60. Smith discusses the distinction between non-family and intrafamilial transactions at Redgrave: Smith, 'Families and their land', p 160. The relatively small number of intra-familial transfers is a feature of other manors in eastern England: Smith, 'Families and their land', p 157; idem. 'Transactional analysis', p 227; Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', p 121. On the dominance of intra-familial activity in traditional peasant land transfer cf R Hodges, Primitive and Peasant Markets, 1988, pp 8, 62, 74-6, 124, 135.
61. Smith discusses the distinction between non-family and intrafamilial transactions at Redgrave: Smith, 'Families and their land', p 160. The relatively small number of intra-familial transfers is a feature of other manors in eastern England: Smith, 'Families and their land', p 157; idem. 'Transactional analysis', p 227; Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', p 121. On the dominance of intra-familial activity in traditional peasant land transfer cf R Hodges, Primitive and Peasant Markets, 1988, pp 8, 62, 74-6, 124, 135.
62. Smith discusses the distinction between non-family and intrafamilial transactions at Redgrave: Smith, 'Families and their land', p 160. The relatively small number of intra-familial transfers is a feature of other manors in eastern England: Smith, 'Families and their land', p 157; idem. 'Transactional analysis', p 227; Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', p 121. On the dominance of intra-familial activity in traditional peasant land transfer cf R Hodges, Primitive and Peasant Markets, 1988, pp 8, 62, 74-6, 124, 135.
63. Smith discusses the distinction between non-family and intrafamilial transactions at Redgrave: Smith, 'Families and their land', p 160. The relatively small number of intra-familial transfers is a feature of other manors in eastern England: Smith, 'Families and their land', p 157; idem. 'Transactional analysis', p 227; Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', p 121. On the dominance of intra-familial activity in traditional peasant land transfer cf R Hodges, Primitive and Peasant Markets, 1988, pp 8, 62, 74-6, 124, 135.
64. Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 159-65; Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', pp 110-15.
65. Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 159-65; Campbell, 'Inheritance and the land market', pp 110-15.
66. Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 165-72. See also Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 94-8.
67. Smith, 'Families and their land', pp 165-72. See also Razi, Life, Marriage and Death, pp 94-8.
68. Sellers to William son of Adam and land market involvement, 1294-1299: Ralph Kempe 1294, 1297 (3); Henry Crane 1295 (2), 1299; Robert Messor 1295 (2), 1295, 1296, 1297, 1298 (2), 1298; Nicholas Wodeward 1295, 1296, 1297, 1298, 1299; Adam Bretun 1297, 1297, 1298. Years in bold indicate sales to William: Bacon Mss, 116-7.
69. For Redgrave, see Smith, 'Families and their land', p 172.
70. Powell, A Suffolk Hundred. There are no surviving lay subsidy assessments for Blackbourne Hundred for the 1290s: examination of manors with both good series of court rolls and taxation material would undoubtedly be profitable. On the use of lay subsidies to investigate the peasantry see K Biddick, 'Medieval English peasants and market involvement', Jnl Econ Hist, xlv, 1985, pp 823-31; J F Hadwin, 'The medieval lay subsidies and economic history', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 36, 1983, pp 200-17.
71. Powell, A Suffolk Hundred. There are no surviving lay subsidy assessments for Blackbourne Hundred for the 1290s: examination of manors with both good series of court rolls and taxation material would undoubtedly be profitable. On the use of lay subsidies to investigate the peasantry see K Biddick, 'Medieval English peasants and market involvement', Jnl Econ Hist, xlv, 1985, pp 823-31; J F Hadwin, 'The medieval lay subsidies and economic history', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 36, 1983, pp 200-17.
72. Powell, A Suffolk Hundred. There are no surviving lay subsidy assessments for Blackbourne Hundred for the 1290s: examination of manors with both good series of court rolls and taxation material would undoubtedly be profitable. On the use of lay subsidies to investigate the peasantry see K Biddick, 'Medieval English peasants and market involvement', Jnl Econ Hist, xlv, 1985, pp 823-31; J F Hadwin, 'The medieval lay subsidies and economic history', Econ Hist Rev, 2nd ser, 36, 1983, pp 200-17.
73. The lay subsidy assessment figures for the brothers compare very closely with Christopher Dyer's bases of calculations for the domestic economy of a yardlander on the midland's manor of Bishop's Cleeve in the late thirteenth century. Dyer estimates that his tenant there would enjoy an annual surplus of between £1 18s od and £2 115 od: Dyer, Standards of Living, pp 110-17.
74. Bacon Mss, 115 m 4, court of 22 Sept 1282: ...preterea [Willelmus et heredes sui] dabint eidem Roberto quamdiu vixerit annuatim ii.s ad placitum suum faciendum.
75. Bacon Mss, 117 m 3: a concordance recorded on the dorse of the roll.
76. BL, Add 31970, 212 (20).
77. See above, note 18.
78. For a discussion of rural debt in the thirteenth and fourteenth century, see P R Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit dans la campagnes anglaise au moyen âge', in M Berthe et F Brumont, eds, Endettement et crédit dans les campagnes de l'Europe au moyen âge et à l'epoque moderne, Flaran, forthcoming; on the fifteenth century, E Clark, 'Debt litigation in a late medieval English vill, in J A Raftis, ed, Pathways to Medieval Peasants, Toronto, 1981, pp 247-79. For a discussion of private pleas in the manor courts of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, see J Beckerman, 'Procedural innovation and institutional change in medieval English manorial courts', Law and History Review, 10, 1992, pp 197-252. On the introduction and development of the private plea in manorial courts see also Z Razi and R Smith, 'The origins of the English manorial court roll as a written record: a puzzle', in Smith and Razi, Medieval Society, pp 43-9.
79. For a discussion of rural debt in the thirteenth and fourteenth century, see P R Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit dans la campagnes anglaise au moyen âge', in M Berthe et F Brumont, eds, Endettement et crédit dans les campagnes de l'Europe au moyen âge et à l'epoque moderne, Flaran, forthcoming; on the fifteenth century, E Clark, 'Debt litigation in a late medieval English vill, in J A Raftis, ed, Pathways to Medieval Peasants, Toronto, 1981, pp 247-79. For a discussion of private pleas in the manor courts of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, see J Beckerman, 'Procedural innovation and institutional change in medieval English manorial courts', Law and History Review, 10, 1992, pp 197-252. On the introduction and development of the private plea in manorial courts see also Z Razi and R Smith, 'The origins of the English manorial court roll as a written record: a puzzle', in Smith and Razi, Medieval Society, pp 43-9.
80. For a discussion of rural debt in the thirteenth and fourteenth century, see P R Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit dans la campagnes anglaise au moyen âge', in M Berthe et F Brumont, eds, Endettement et crédit dans les campagnes de l'Europe au moyen âge et à l'epoque moderne, Flaran, forthcoming; on the fifteenth century, E Clark, 'Debt litigation in a late medieval English vill, in J A Raftis, ed, Pathways to Medieval Peasants, Toronto, 1981, pp 247-79. For a discussion of private pleas in the manor courts of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, see J Beckerman, 'Procedural innovation and institutional change in medieval English manorial courts', Law and History Review, 10, 1992, pp 197-252. On the introduction and development of the private plea in manorial courts see also Z Razi and R Smith, 'The origins of the English manorial court roll as a written record: a puzzle', in Smith and Razi, Medieval Society, pp 43-9.
81. For a discussion of rural debt in the thirteenth and fourteenth century, see P R Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit dans la campagnes anglaise au moyen âge', in M Berthe et F Brumont, eds, Endettement et crédit dans les campagnes de l'Europe au moyen âge et à l'epoque moderne, Flaran, forthcoming; on the fifteenth century, E Clark, 'Debt litigation in a late medieval English vill, in J A Raftis, ed, Pathways to Medieval Peasants, Toronto, 1981, pp 247-79. For a discussion of private pleas in the manor courts of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, see J Beckerman, 'Procedural innovation and institutional change in medieval English manorial courts', Law and History Review, 10, 1992, pp 197-252. On the introduction and development of the private plea in manorial courts see also Z Razi and R Smith, 'The origins of the English manorial court roll as a written record: a puzzle', in Smith and Razi, Medieval Society, pp 43-9.
82. Clark, 'Debt litigation', pp 255, 273, n 32. Procedure in manorial courts mirrored, to some extent, statute law. The Statute of Acton Burnel, 1283, had formalized the recognizance and, thereafter, it became an important element in the credit arrangements of merchants: cf M M Postan, 'Credit in medieval trade', Econ Hist Rev, 1st ser, i, 1928, pp 234-61, reprinted in idem, Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, 1973, pp 1-27, and idem, 'Private financial instruments in medieval England', Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-una Wirtschaftsgeschichte, XXIII, 1930, pp 26-75, reprinted in Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, pp 28-64, esp pp 35-9. For a discussion of forms of credit transaction amongst the peasantry of late medieval England, see Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit'. See also the comments of N J Mayhew in 'Modelling medieval monetization', in R H Britnell and BMS Campbell, eds, A Commercialising Economy. England, 1086-c 1300, Manchester, 1995, PP 67-8. A caveat needs to be applied to my argument here: N J Mayhew, in an unpublished paper based upon the court rolls of Gussage All Saints, Dorset, warns of the need to differentiate between formal recognizances in court rolls, enrolled at the time of the original loan, and undefended pleas of debt which were 'practically indistinguishable'. He argues that most 'recognizances' were, in fact, undefended pleas and that, therefore, firstly, most debt cases recorded in the court rolls were of genuine default, and, secondly, there were far more credit arrangements in the medieval village than those which found their way into the manor court rolls. I am grateful to Mr Mayhew for permission to refer to his unpublished work. At Colchester, most recognizances were the result of litigation: R H Britnell, Growth and Decline in Colchester, 1300-1525, 1986, pp 104-5. However, even if most recognizance-type entries at Hinderclay were in fact undefended debt recoveries, the general increase in recoveries still displays a significant trend.
83. Clark, 'Debt litigation', pp 255, 273, n 32. Procedure in manorial courts mirrored, to some extent, statute law. The Statute of Acton Burnel, 1283, had formalized the recognizance and, thereafter, it became an important element in the credit arrangements of merchants: cf M M Postan, 'Credit in medieval trade', Econ Hist Rev, 1st ser, i, 1928, pp 234-61, reprinted in idem, Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, 1973, pp 1-27, and idem, 'Private financial instruments in medieval England', Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-una Wirtschaftsgeschichte, XXIII, 1930, pp 26-75, reprinted in Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, pp 28-64, esp pp 35-9. For a discussion of forms of credit transaction amongst the peasantry of late medieval England, see Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit'. See also the comments of N J Mayhew in 'Modelling medieval monetization', in R H Britnell and BMS Campbell, eds, A Commercialising Economy. England, 1086-c 1300, Manchester, 1995, PP 67-8. A caveat needs to be applied to my argument here: N J Mayhew, in an unpublished paper based upon the court rolls of Gussage All Saints, Dorset, warns of the need to differentiate between formal recognizances in court rolls, enrolled at the time of the original loan, and undefended pleas of debt which were 'practically indistinguishable'. He argues that most 'recognizances' were, in fact, undefended pleas and that, therefore, firstly, most debt cases recorded in the court rolls were of genuine default, and, secondly, there were far more credit arrangements in the medieval village than those which found their way into the manor court rolls. I am grateful to Mr Mayhew for permission to refer to his unpublished work. At Colchester, most recognizances were the result of litigation: R H Britnell, Growth and Decline in Colchester, 1300-1525, 1986, pp 104-5. However, even if most recognizance-type entries at Hinderclay were in fact undefended debt recoveries, the general increase in recoveries still displays a significant trend.
84. Clark, 'Debt litigation', pp 255, 273, n 32. Procedure in manorial courts mirrored, to some extent, statute law. The Statute of Acton Burnel, 1283, had formalized the recognizance and, thereafter, it became an important element in the credit arrangements of merchants: cf M M Postan, 'Credit in medieval trade', Econ Hist Rev, 1st ser, i, 1928, pp 234-61, reprinted in idem, Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, 1973, pp 1-27, and idem, 'Private financial instruments in medieval England', Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-una Wirtschaftsgeschichte, XXIII, 1930, pp 26-75, reprinted in Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, pp 28-64, esp pp 35-9. For a discussion of forms of credit transaction amongst the peasantry of late medieval England, see Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit'. See also the comments of N J Mayhew in 'Modelling medieval monetization', in R H Britnell and BMS Campbell, eds, A Commercialising Economy. England, 1086-c 1300, Manchester, 1995, PP 67-8. A caveat needs to be applied to my argument here: N J Mayhew, in an unpublished paper based upon the court rolls of Gussage All Saints, Dorset, warns of the need to differentiate between formal recognizances in court rolls, enrolled at the time of the original loan, and undefended pleas of debt which were 'practically indistinguishable'. He argues that most 'recognizances' were, in fact, undefended pleas and that, therefore, firstly, most debt cases recorded in the court rolls were of genuine default, and, secondly, there were far more credit arrangements in the medieval village than those which found their way into the manor court rolls. I am grateful to Mr Mayhew for permission to refer to his unpublished work. At Colchester, most recognizances were the result of litigation: R H Britnell, Growth and Decline in Colchester, 1300-1525, 1986, pp 104-5. However, even if most recognizance-type entries at Hinderclay were in fact undefended debt recoveries, the general increase in recoveries still displays a significant trend.
85. Clark, 'Debt litigation', pp 255, 273, n 32. Procedure in manorial courts mirrored, to some extent, statute law. The Statute of Acton Burnel, 1283, had formalized the recognizance and, thereafter, it became an important element in the credit arrangements of merchants: cf M M Postan, 'Credit in medieval trade', Econ Hist Rev, 1st ser, i, 1928, pp 234-61, reprinted in idem, Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, 1973, pp 1-27, and idem, 'Private financial instruments in medieval England', Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-una Wirtschaftsgeschichte, XXIII, 1930, pp 26-75, reprinted in Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, pp 28-64, esp pp 35-9. For a discussion of forms of credit transaction amongst the peasantry of late medieval England, see Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit'. See also the comments of N J Mayhew in 'Modelling medieval monetization', in R H Britnell and BMS Campbell, eds, A Commercialising Economy. England, 1086-c 1300, Manchester, 1995, PP 67-8. A caveat needs to be applied to my argument here: N J Mayhew, in an unpublished paper based upon the court rolls of Gussage All Saints, Dorset, warns of the need to differentiate between formal recognizances in court rolls, enrolled at the time of the original loan, and undefended pleas of debt which were 'practically indistinguishable'. He argues that most 'recognizances' were, in fact, undefended pleas and that, therefore, firstly, most debt cases recorded in the court rolls were of genuine default, and, secondly, there were far more credit arrangements in the medieval village than those which found their way into the manor court rolls. I am grateful to Mr Mayhew for permission to refer to his unpublished work. At Colchester, most recognizances were the result of litigation: R H Britnell, Growth and Decline in Colchester, 1300-1525, 1986, pp 104-5. However, even if most recognizance-type entries at Hinderclay were in fact undefended debt recoveries, the general increase in recoveries still displays a significant trend.
86. Clark, 'Debt litigation', pp 255, 273, n 32. Procedure in manorial courts mirrored, to some extent, statute law. The Statute of Acton Burnel, 1283, had formalized the recognizance and, thereafter, it became an important element in the credit arrangements of merchants: cf M M Postan, 'Credit in medieval trade', Econ Hist Rev, 1st ser, i, 1928, pp 234-61, reprinted in idem, Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, 1973, pp 1-27, and idem, 'Private financial instruments in medieval England', Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-una Wirtschaftsgeschichte, XXIII, 1930, pp 26-75, reprinted in Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, pp 28-64, esp pp 35-9. For a discussion of forms of credit transaction amongst the peasantry of late medieval England, see Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit'. See also the comments of N J Mayhew in 'Modelling medieval monetization', in R H Britnell and BMS Campbell, eds, A Commercialising Economy. England, 1086-c 1300, Manchester, 1995, PP 67-8. A caveat needs to be applied to my argument here: N J Mayhew, in an unpublished paper based upon the court rolls of Gussage All Saints, Dorset, warns of the need to differentiate between formal recognizances in court rolls, enrolled at the time of the original loan, and undefended pleas of debt which were 'practically indistinguishable'. He argues that most 'recognizances' were, in fact, undefended pleas and that, therefore, firstly, most debt cases recorded in the court rolls were of genuine default, and, secondly, there were far more credit arrangements in the medieval village than those which found their way into the manor court rolls. I am grateful to Mr Mayhew for permission to refer to his unpublished work. At Colchester, most recognizances were the result of litigation: R H Britnell, Growth and Decline in Colchester, 1300-1525, 1986, pp 104-5. However, even if most recognizance-type entries at Hinderclay were in fact undefended debt recoveries, the general increase in recoveries still displays a significant trend.
87. Clark, 'Debt litigation', pp 255, 273, n 32. Procedure in manorial courts mirrored, to some extent, statute law. The Statute of Acton Burnel, 1283, had formalized the recognizance and, thereafter, it became an important element in the credit arrangements of merchants: cf M M Postan, 'Credit in medieval trade', Econ Hist Rev, 1st ser, i, 1928, pp 234-61, reprinted in idem, Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, 1973, pp 1-27, and idem, 'Private financial instruments in medieval England', Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-una Wirtschaftsgeschichte, XXIII, 1930, pp 26-75, reprinted in Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, pp 28-64, esp pp 35-9. For a discussion of forms of credit transaction amongst the peasantry of late medieval England, see Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit'. See also the comments of N J Mayhew in 'Modelling medieval monetization', in R H Britnell and BMS Campbell, eds, A Commercialising Economy. England, 1086-c 1300, Manchester, 1995, PP 67-8. A caveat needs to be applied to my argument here: N J Mayhew, in an unpublished paper based upon the court rolls of Gussage All Saints, Dorset, warns of the need to differentiate between formal recognizances in court rolls, enrolled at the time of the original loan, and undefended pleas of debt which were 'practically indistinguishable'. He argues that most 'recognizances' were, in fact, undefended pleas and that, therefore, firstly, most debt cases recorded in the court rolls were of genuine default, and, secondly, there were far more credit arrangements in the medieval village than those which found their way into the manor court rolls. I am grateful to Mr Mayhew for permission to refer to his unpublished work. At Colchester, most recognizances were the result of litigation: R H Britnell, Growth and Decline in Colchester, 1300-1525, 1986, pp 104-5. However, even if most recognizance-type entries at Hinderclay were in fact undefended debt recoveries, the general increase in recoveries still displays a significant trend.
88. Clark, 'Debt litigation', pp 255, 273, n 32. Procedure in manorial courts mirrored, to some extent, statute law. The Statute of Acton Burnel, 1283, had formalized the recognizance and, thereafter, it became an important element in the credit arrangements of merchants: cf M M Postan, 'Credit in medieval trade', Econ Hist Rev, 1st ser, i, 1928, pp 234-61, reprinted in idem, Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, 1973, pp 1-27, and idem, 'Private financial instruments in medieval England', Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-una Wirtschaftsgeschichte, XXIII, 1930, pp 26-75, reprinted in Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, pp 28-64, esp pp 35-9. For a discussion of forms of credit transaction amongst the peasantry of late medieval England, see Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit'. See also the comments of N J Mayhew in 'Modelling medieval monetization', in R H Britnell and BMS Campbell, eds, A Commercialising Economy. England, 1086-c 1300, Manchester, 1995, PP 67-8. A caveat needs to be applied to my argument here: N J Mayhew, in an unpublished paper based upon the court rolls of Gussage All Saints, Dorset, warns of the need to differentiate between formal recognizances in court rolls, enrolled at the time of the original loan, and undefended pleas of debt which were 'practically indistinguishable'. He argues that most 'recognizances' were, in fact, undefended pleas and that, therefore, firstly, most debt cases recorded in the court rolls were of genuine default, and, secondly, there were far more credit arrangements in the medieval village than those which found their way into the manor court rolls. I am grateful to Mr Mayhew for permission to refer to his unpublished work. At Colchester, most recognizances were the result of litigation: R H Britnell, Growth and Decline in Colchester, 1300-1525, 1986, pp 104-5. However, even if most recognizance-type entries at Hinderclay were in fact undefended debt recoveries, the general increase in recoveries still displays a significant trend.
89. Clark, 'Debt litigation', pp 255, 273, n 32. Procedure in manorial courts mirrored, to some extent, statute law. The Statute of Acton Burnel, 1283, had
90. Clark, 'Debt litigation', pp 255, 273, n 32. Procedure in manorial courts mirrored, to some extent, statute law. The Statute of Acton Burnel, 1283, had formalized the recognizance and, thereafter, it became an important element in the credit arrangements of merchants: cf M M Postan, 'Credit in medieval trade', Econ Hist Rev, 1st ser, i, 1928, pp 234-61, reprinted in idem, Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, 1973, pp 1-27, and idem, 'Private financial instruments in medieval England', Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-una Wirtschaftsgeschichte, XXIII, 1930, pp 26-75, reprinted in Essays on Medieval Trade and Finance, pp 28-64, esp pp 35-9. For a discussion of forms of credit transaction amongst the peasantry of late medieval England, see Schofield, 'Endettement et crédit'. See also the comments of N J Mayhew in 'Modelling medieval monetization', in R H Britnell and BMS Campbell, eds, A Commercialising Economy. England, 1086-c 1300, Manchester, 1995, PP 67-8. A caveat needs to be applied to my argument here: N J Mayhew, in an unpublished paper based upon the court rolls of Gussage All Saints, Dorset, warns of the need to differentiate between formal recognizances in court rolls, enrolled at the time of the original loan, and undefended pleas of debt which were 'practically indistinguishable'. He argues that most 'recognizances' were, in fact, undefended pleas and that, therefore, firstly, most debt cases recorded in the court rolls were of genuine default, and, secondly, there were far more credit arrangements in the medieval village than those which found their way into the manor court rolls. I am grateful to Mr Mayhew for permission to refer to his unpublished work. At Colchester, most recognizances were the result of litigation: R H Britnell, Growth and Decline in Colchester, 1300-1525, 1986, pp 104-5. However, even if most recognizance-type entries at Hinderclay were in fact undefended debt recoveries, the general increase in recoveries still displays a significant trend.
91. Britnell, Growth and Decline in Colchester, p 100; M J McIntosh, Autonomy and Community. The Royal Manor of Havering, 1200-1500, 1986, p 169; Dyer, Standards of Living, p 185.
92. Britnell, Growth and Decline in Colchester, p 100; M J McIntosh, Autonomy and Community. The Royal Manor of Havering, 1200-1500, 1986, p 169; Dyer, Standards of Living, p 185.
93. Britnell, Growth and Decline in Colchester, p 100; M J McIntosh, Autonomy and Community. The Royal Manor of Havering, 1200-1500, 1986, p 169; Dyer, Standards of Living, p 185.
94. Bacon Mss, 116-117, courts of 16 Mar 1295, 6 June 1295 and 16 May 1299: sales of land to William son of Adam: courts of 13 Oct 1292, 8 May 1293, 6 June 1295, 3 Feb 1296: pleas of debt and contract.
95. 51In a court held on 15 Oct 1296 Nicholas paid 3d for licence to agree with Margaret of Coney Western in a debt of 5s 6d, and Nicholas was allowed to repay the sum in two instalments, the first to be made on the feast of All Souls (1 Nov), the second on the feast of St Thomas Apostle (21 Dec): Bacon Mss, 117, court of 15 Oct 1296. The near coincidence of the size of this debt with that owed by Henry and the fact that the creditors shared the same surname suggests a relationship between the two cases not made explicit in the court rolls.
96. Bacon Mss, 117, courts of 6 June 1295, 15 Oct 1296.
97. 53See, for example, B F Harvey, Westminster Abbey and its Estates in the Middle Ages, 1977, pp 307-11, where it is noted thac all except short term leases - possibly no more than a year -needed the lord's consent; on the St Albans Abbey estates all leases, however short their duration, were recorded in the court rolls after 1354 whereas previous to this leases of two years or less were not enrolled: L A Slota, 'Law, land transfer, and lordship on the estates of St Albans Abbey in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries', Law and History Review, 6, 1988, p 132.
98. 53See, for example, B F Harvey, Westminster Abbey and its Estates in the Middle Ages, 1977, pp 307-11, where it is noted thac all except short term leases - possibly no more than a year -needed the lord's consent; on the St Albans Abbey estates all leases, however short their duration, were recorded in the court rolls after 1354 whereas previous to this leases of two years or less were not enrolled: L A Slota, 'Law, land transfer, and lordship on the estates of St Albans Abbey in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries', Law and History Review, 6, 1988, p 132.
99. Although note the comments of Ian Blanchard, 'Industrial employment and the rural land market, 1380-1520', in Smith, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, pp 227-75, esp pp 241-4, and the comments of Smith on the same: R M Smith, 'Families and their property in rural England, 1250-1800', in Smith, Land, Kinship and Lifecycle, p 60.
100. Although note the comments of Ian Blanchard, 'Industrial employment and the rural land market, 1380-1520', in Smith, Land, Kinship and Life-cycle, pp 227-75, esp pp 241-4, and the comments of Smith on the same: R M Smith, 'Families and their property in rural England, 1250-1800', in Smith, Land, Kinship and Lifecycle, p 60.
101. Bacon Mss, 116-117, courts of 6 June 1295, 5 April 1296, 17 Feb 1297, 19 Nov 1297, 23 April 1298 (the order was repeated in the court of 17 July 1298).
102. See above, pp 1-2.
103. Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown', p 291; for the most recent analysis of late thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century taxation, see Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy', pp 149-83.
104. Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown', p 291; for the most recent analysis of late thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century taxation, see Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy', pp 149-83.
105. Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy', p 153.
106. J F Willard, 'The taxes upon moveables of the reign of Edward I', Eng Hist Rev, xxviii, 1913, pp 519-21.
107. Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy', pp 167-75; T H Lloyd, 'The movement of woo] prices in medieval England', Economic History Review Supplement, vi, 1973, pp 16-7, 39-40, 62.
108. Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy', pp 167-75; T H Lloyd, 'The movement of woo] prices in medieval England', Economic History Review Supplement, vi, 1973, pp 16-7, 39-40, 62.
109. Lloyd, 'Movement of wool prices', pp 39-40.
110. On the seizure of wool, see T H Lloyd, The English Wool Trade in the Middle Ages, 1977, pp 87-96; on purveyance, see Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown', pp 299-318.
111. On the seizure of wool, see T H Lloyd, The English Wool Trade in the Middle Ages, 1977, pp 87-96; on purveyance, see Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown', pp 299-318.
112. M Prestwich, War, Finance and Politics under Edward I, 1972, Pp 133-4; Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown', pp 301-2; Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy', p 175.
113. M Prestwich, War, Finance and Politics under Edward I, 1972, Pp 133-4; Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown', pp 301-2; Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy', p 175.
114. M Prestwich, War, Finance and Politics under Edward I, 1972, Pp 133-4; Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown', pp 301-2; Ormrod, 'The crown and the English economy', p 175.
115. Cal Pat R, 1292-1301, pp 487-8, pp 578-9. However, five-sixths of the oats and only about one-half of the wheat ordered was actually levied: Prestwich, War, Finance and Politics, pp 122-3. Military levies were an additional burden in this period; for instance, 8000 men were to be selected from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire for the expedition to Gascony in 1295: Cal Pat R, p 151; although the expedition was cancelled, villagers still felt the costs of the levy: cf
116. Presrwich, War, Finance and Politics, pp 100-1;
117. also, Maddicott, 'The English peasantry and the demands of the crown', pp 318-29.
118. On the shortage of currency, see, for example, M Prestwich, 'Currency and the economy of early fourteenth century England', in N J Mayhew, ed, Edwardian Monetary Affairs (1279-1344), British Archaeological Reports, 36, 1977, pp 51-2.
119. The full range of 'taxables' under the medieval lay subsidies is not made explicit: Willard, 'Taxes upon moveables', p 517, and Parliamentary Taxes on Personal Property, pp 81-5. I am grateful to Dr Hoyle for allowing me to refer to his forthcoming work. The argument mentioned above was an important section of a seminar paper given at All Souls College, Oxford, May 1994; outlines of his general position are to be found in: R Hoyle, Military Survey of Gloucestershire, 1522, The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, Gloucester Record Series, VI, 1993, pp. ix-xii, xxxi-xliv, and 'War and public finance', in D MacCullouch, ed, The Reign of Henry VIII, forthcoming, pp 75-99, esp pp 95-9.
120. The full range of 'taxables' under the medieval lay subsidies is not made explicit: Willard, 'Taxes upon moveables', p 517, and Parliamentary Taxes on Personal Property, pp 81-5. I am grateful to Dr Hoyle for allowing me to refer to his forthcoming work. The argument mentioned above was an important section of a seminar paper given at All Souls College, Oxford, May 1994; outlines of his general position are to be found in: R Hoyle, Military Survey of Gloucestershire, 1522, The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, Gloucester Record Series, VI, 1993, pp. ix-xii, xxxi-xliv, and 'War and public finance', in D MacCullouch, ed, The Reign of Henry VIII, forthcoming, pp 75-99, esp pp 95-9.
121. The full range of 'taxables' under the medieval lay subsidies is not made explicit: Willard, 'Taxes upon moveables', p 517, and Parliamentary Taxes on Personal Property, pp 81-5. I am grateful to Dr Hoyle for allowing me to refer to his forthcoming work. The argument mentioned above was an important section of a seminar paper given at All Souls College, Oxford, May 1994; outlines of his general position are to be found in: R Hoyle, Military Survey of Gloucestershire, 1522, The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, Gloucester Record Series, VI, 1993, pp. ix-xii, xxxi-xliv, and 'War and public finance', in D MacCullouch, ed, The Reign of Henry VIII, forthcoming, pp 75-99, esp pp 95-9.
122. The full range of 'taxables' under the medieval lay subsidies is not made explicit: Willard, 'Taxes upon moveables', p 517, and Parliamentary Taxes on Personal Property, pp 81-5. I am grateful to Dr Hoyle for allowing me to refer to his forthcoming work. The argument mentioned above was an important section of a seminar paper given at All Souls College, Oxford, May 1994; outlines of his general position are to be found in: R Hoyle, Military Survey of Gloucestershire, 1522, The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, Gloucester Record Series, VI, 1993, pp. ix-xii, xxxi-xliv, and 'War and public finance', in D MacCullouch, ed, The Reign of Henry VIII, forthcoming, pp 75-99, esp pp 95-9.
123. It may in fact be the case that credit would never have been extended to the poorest villagers who had little or no security to offer. The impact of the withdrawal of credit from the wealthiest villagers would, hi this case, have been indirect.
124. Walter, 'The social economy of dearth', pp 96-113, in particular his discussion of the availability of credit in years of harvest deficiency, pp 104-5. For exchange entitlement see A Sen, Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, 1981.
125. Walter, 'The social economy of dearth', pp 96-113, in particular his discussion of the availability of credit in years of harvest deficiency, pp 104-5. For exchange entitlement see A Sen, Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, 1981.